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Keep the ball rolling!!! Research Continua...

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Keep the ball rolling!!! Research Continua...

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Finally, we are approaching the end of the module for this semester, knowing fully well that time is no longer on our side coupled with all other class assignments and coursework. I am still working in alignment with the feedback I received from my tutor on the research proposal I submitted which is quite challenging and hectic as it goes. However, we started today’s class still on independent study/ self-conferencing, meeting with our tutor one on one for clarity and asking questions, during the self-study he asked us to work on our Padlet for those that haven’t updated theirs, using the time also to work on our research project, how to form a good research question and he also asked how we intend to get feedback on our research questions in which he told us that we can use Google Scholar and Science Direct to get answers, trying to interview people and using surveys might take a whole lot of time in which we do not have much time left anymore. Moving onto preparing for our presentation, which will be happening in two weeks' time, this is the time I must start preparing for it to have a good presentation at the end of the day. However, making a draft of this presentation was tough because a lot of research must have been done accurately well in which some research is still going on presently not leaving any stone unturned to have a successful result. We were told the presentation would last up to 15 minutes, we should ensure to prepare well for it and give it our best. Lastly, before the ended of the class our tutor told us how many slides our presentation should entail which are:

Title

Contents

Rationale

Literature Reviews

Objectives and Research questions

Data collection / metholodology

Ethics

Results/findings

conclusions

Lessons learned from the project

References

Question and Answer

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Welcome to another day of my weekly blog. Still on independent study/ conferencing time.

In this week's session, we will be meeting with our tutor independently and getting feedback on our research proposal and what to do to improve it. Having met with my tutor and discussing with him about my research proposal, he highlighted some errors and proposed ways I can solve them. Starting with my research topic, he advised me to be more specific about what type of UK-African small businesses entering international markets. Secondly, I was told to find more questions my research would answer and find answers to those questions by using secondary data collection, due to time constraints of the project module to conduct primary research data collection that is, the use of interviews, case studies, observations and surveys in person. In the meantime, I will be using secondary data collection which is data that exists already like publications, questionnaires, journal articles, etc. I can acknowledge this would be the ideal way of finding answers to the questions if I made them specific to local businesses and give some examples of questions I would ask as part of the interview and how I would identify and approach participants.

Also, looking back on my research project, there are some challenges I faced like acquiring knowledge of information sources, time management, struggle with finding relevant literature, and managing multiple projects and deadlines. Overcoming these challenges was quite demanding.

It is now time to implement the feedback I got from my tutor and merge them all together to have a better project proposal. My tutor suggested that I give some examples to explain the terminologies I used in my proposal for the presentation and reformulate my research questions. He also corrected me on not adding all my in-text citations and references to my reference list. At this point, I must do more research and read more books.

Finally, with the research proposal now done, I realized that research is a continuous process. It is time-consuming and adventurous; it is what one must stay committed to achieve a better result. This is another phase entirely for me, and I can't afford to relent.

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Another day for a weekly blog where we never cease to document the whole process in this class. Welcome to Postgraduate Progression Project class week four. It is a brand-new day to gather new research information. The class started with a new tutor, which means new rules, and new procedures to the assessment approach all pointing at writing a research proposal. With tutor Shem, the process of writing a research proposal includes writing your introduction, research questions, research aims and objectives, methodology, and literature review. We were therefore shown a new way to do this in a Thematic way, this includes:

Provisional title for your dissertation: This is where you write your project topic.

Rationale: what is required in this field is why you want to conduct this research and add your literature review.

Research questions: There should be some questions your research is going to answer, research questions guide your research paper and state exactly what you want to find out. However, you fill in your research questions here.

Methodological approach: This requires stating what method you intend to use for the research.

Main stages of data collection: Here includes stating the sources of your data, and how you would access them and put them here.

Definition of key terms: Defining the key terms and writing them down.

Ethical considerations: University principles that guide your research designs and practices.

List of references: List everything that you have cited in your work. This list will be drawn from everything that you have either paraphrased or quoted in your research.

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Research Topic, Questions, Aims and Objectives.

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Research Topic, Questions, Aims and Objectives.

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We started today's class by reflecting on our previous class which entailed writing Research Aims, questions, and objectives, and also reflecting on our Padlet for the last class. Moving forward to the next phase of choosing a topic was difficult for me even though I had a series of ideas and topics running through my head but it wasn't connecting to the exact thing I wanted.

At some point some of my colleagues were ahead of me while I was still finding it difficult to have a topic, this made me feel terrible but then I picked myself up and told myself not to settle for less and to put in more effort in other to achieve what I wanted. Then I had a meeting scheduled for the next day with my tutor to finalize my topic, so I could proceed in writing my literature review. We then moved into the teaching of the day and he showed us how to include Grammarly and Mendely in our Word document for easy referencing and correct sentences. I met with my tutor the following day to discuss my topic with him. I started by explaining my undergraduate course which was Economics Education, a course that was involved with the creation, consumption, and transfer of wealth, it also explores how people and firms produce and consume goods and services. After a lengthy discussion, my tutor suggested I work on a research topic on small businesses. I then realized that there is always a connection every time we progress in our academic life be it you are studying now or have done that a long time ago, all we need to do is to think, strategize, and do research and we will see them linking together. I got my research topic, question, aims, and objectives immediately.

Research Topic.

Identifying and Evaluating Strategies for UK African Small Businesses to Enter into International Markets.

Research Question.

How can UK small businesses enter into international markets?

Research Aim.

This research aims to identify and evaluate strategies for UK African small businesses to enter international markets.

Research Objectives.

1. To critically review literature in entrepreneurship and small business to understand strategies that UK African small businesses can utilize to enter international markets.

2. To identify and evaluate strategies for UK African small businesses to enter international markets.

3. To contribute new knowledge in entrepreneurship and small business to academics in these fields.

4. To provide a greater understanding of the strategies for UK African small Businesses to enter international markets

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Moving onto the next phase in another class with tutor Shem, we all reflected on what we did in our previous class and our Padlet and the necessary information to be added.

Furthermore, before choosing our research topic, tutor Shem asked every one of our areas of study for our master's program for our topic to relate to our master's program. He proceeded to ask what interests us in studying International Business Management.

However, we went fully into choosing our research topic and narrowed it down to something not too broad to handle it efficiently and get research materials.

Also, our tutor asked if we would want to see him one-on-one to help us with our research topic he attended to us one after the other taking his time and spending only 15 minutes with each person, checking out their research topics, then proceeding to writing their Aims and Objectives. Although he couldn't attend to everyone in the class, he thereby suggested we send him an email to have a session with him on Teams meeting or see him either on Thursday or Friday at the other campus. He also reminded us not to forget to fill our Padlet, and we called it a day.

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This is our first class with tutor Shem, in which he will be taking us Postgraduate Progression Project.  He gave us an overview of what the course entails, the aims and objectives, how important it is, and how it will help us at our master's level when we start doing our final dissertation.

Also, I got to understand that when choosing a project topic I shouldn't choose an ambiguous topic and what I don't have an interest in and also how to narrow down a wide research project.

In coming up with a research topic I should consider my master's program and brainstorm on what area I have an interest in and also check out if materials are available for that project. Moving forward to the research aim should reflect on the research problem, clearly describing what my intentions are and what I hope to achieve. A research question is a question that the research project set to answer, the question should not be too broad, and also not too difficult or easy to answer. A research objective should be a clear and concise statement of the specific goals and aims of the research.

Furthermore, he introduced to us the topic of the day which was Mastering the Art of Choosing the Perfect Research Topic, and the necessary websites we can use to conduct our research like, Google Scholar, library search, Scopus, etc. to make our work efficient and free of plagiarism. When writing research work the content of the material to use should contain the Author, Title, and methodology limitations. In choosing a research project, the aims, objectives, and questions must be clearly defined, also while working on the project, the researcher should be able to know how to get materials for that topic, what exists already about it, and importantly must have interest in the topic before going into it. The project topic should be narrowed down to a specific topic or place, also the project should be able to add new knowledge and also contribute to the existing knowledge. With the help of our tutor, helped all the students choose good research topics, helping them narrow it down where necessary and making sure they had an interest in the topic they chose.

Saunders et al (2012) state that the attributes of a business and management research topic are that it meets the examining body's requirements and, in particular, that it is at the correct level. You, therefore, need to check the assessment criteria for your project and ensure that your choice of topic will enable you to meet these criteria.

He also introduced us to the Padlet app and how we can make good use of it for our weekly logs. He also recommended Grammarly and Mendeley for good language construct and referencing, signed up for this app using our school email, and started working on it. The class ended with the assignment our tutor gave us which is when we were done identifying our project topic, we should write out good research aims, objectives, and questions. He also encouraged us to fill out our Padlet and submit them then the class ended.